An article in the Wall Street Journal over the weekend declared that certain popular tourist destinations may still be safe for Americans, but if you're not an American tourist, things have never been worse south of the border.
The death count for the war has reached more than 8,000 over the last two years according to Narconews.com. The Los Angeles Times puts the figure at more than 10,000, either way, it's difficult to get reliable figures on what exactly the death count is. In one Mexican town, drug cartels promised to kill a police officer every 48 hours until the local sheriff resigned. After two police officers were murdered, he resigned. In some cities, cartels have threatened to start attacking elementary schools.
How the Situation is Being Dealt WithThe Mexican military has taken over law enforcement in some of the worst areas due to rampant corruption in police forces, but according to a recent article in the Christian Science Monitor, civilians have complained about violation of their rights, and some have even gone as far to say the military is just as bad as the cartels. Almost all of those quoted asked the newspaper not to reveal their real names because they feared retaliation from drug gangs.
John M. Ackerman, a columnist for the Los Angeles Times said the answer to the drug war lies not in military, but in institution-building. This means making efforts to curb corruption in the police forces and the courts, and creating a more effective system of justice, where judges and police officers don't accept bribes to hide evidence and dole out lenient sentences. "It does no good to capture drug lords," Ackerman said, "if they don't go to jail."
Another Possible Solution has Never Been MentionedThroughout the argument, one solution which would decimate the business of drug cartels in Mexico, legalizing drugs in the United States. A Los Angeles Times article reported that many cartels are starting to get their hands on military grade weapons, and have soldiers just as well-trained as Mexican soldiers, meaning many of them have forces just as well-armed as the army, and much more loyal, because the army doesn't bride mexican drug cartels. Legalizing certain drugs, especially marijuana, a great deal of which comes from Mexico, would let individuals grow marijuana in their back yards of their basements. Why would anyone buy drugs from an illegal dealer when they can get it from the corner store, and know that the dealer didn't spike it with anything else they want to get you addicted too.
Even with 500 billion dollars poured into the war on drugs since it's unofficial beginning in 1973 (According to data compiled by Rolling Stone), illegal drug use in the United States is as high as it's ever been. Legalization of marijuana and cocaine would hardly make a differene in the use of these substances. Putting more money into rehabilitation clinics instead of sending drug users to prisons would save taxpayers millions of dollars each year, and the devastation of the Mexican drug cartels would save thousands of innocent lives in Mexico each year.
This is one course of action that will most likely never be taken. Illegal drug use has been demonized in the United States to the extent that it would be political suicide for any politician to even suggest legalizing drugs. The idea of legalizing marijuana has been thrown around in California, but without a lift of federal anti-drug laws, it would be a largely ceremonial gesture. The war on drugs gives the United States military and excuse to have a presence in countries it would not otherwise have a presence in, such as Columbia.
